The Four Corners

Boom towns are always going to bust. The premises in which created them will always break them. Uranium will never be in full time demand unless we are in a nuclear war. Even the way the writer J.B. Jackson writes about “Discouraging rumors of solar energy being about to replace nuclear energy” is a clear sign of how the economy and the livelihoods of the surrounding population depends on the lands resources. Jackson talks about the Mormon enclaves in the area and besides polygamy it also makes me think about the Christian belief that nature exists for man to manipulate and control for his own good. This ethnocentric view is strictly religious in origin and it was part of the burgeoning moto of the United States which was” Manifest Destiny.” Mobile homes are probably better than putting up homes with a foundation. Homes with a foundation are there for a long amount of time but since this area is known to be a boom bust area it would make sense that these easily moveable structures would be the main living space. Besides being movable they are also in expensive. And in an area where most of the money is used for industrial infrastructure the last thing to receive money is public infrastructure.
The one term I found to be interesting was when Jackson used the term “Thousands of prosperous trailer owners” which in my mind sounds a little off. Prosperous and trailer owners should never be found in the same sentence. Jackson speaks on how the trailer is a symptom of far reaching changes not only in family life but in the evolution of towns. I couldn’t agree more, but I do not agree with Jackson who sounds as if he supports them. I for one would have hated growing up in a trailer because the truth is that trailer living comes with a huge stigma that is hard to get away from. Not only could growing up in a trailer hurt one’s self esteem, it could make a person more prone to living in a trailer all their lives.